Back at Hogwarts
by Searching.For.Pieces.Of.Me
Summary: Harry finally pops the question. Fair warningFLUFF This is an outtake from the Growing Up Weasley Universe.


Back At Hogwarts  
  
"So Hermione, do you know where he's taking me tonight?" Ginny asked her friend as they ate lunch together.  
  
"No, but even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. There's no fun in the surprise then," Hermione responded, laughing at her younger friend.  
  
"So are you looking forward to the summer holidays, Hermione?"  
  
"You have no idea. I love teaching, but enough is enough. I'm almost ready to throw some of them off a cliff."  
  
"Now Hermione, is that any way to be talking about your students?" a voice said from behind her.  
  
"Remus!" Ginny squealed. "I haven't seen you in ages, even if it is my own fault."  
  
"Now Remus, you know I'm really only talking about the fourth years. Ginny, I swear that the house rivalries are worse than anything we dealt with during our years at Hogwarts."  
  
"I'm just teasing Hermione. Ginny, I have a message for you from your boyfriend. You're supposed to go home and relax and not head back to work. He's taken care of everything - or so he promised me. And Hermione, when you get back to the school, I need to talk to you about a student."  
  
Both Hermione and Ginny nodded. When Remus was sure they understood the message, he walked off.  
  
"So now that your boyfriend has gotten you the afternoon off, what are you going to do?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Exactly what he wants me to do - relax. I haven't had a day off in ages."  
  
A little while later Hermione was in the Headmaster's office. "I didn't call you in to talk about a student. I called you in to talk about two former students. Harry and Ginny to be specific."  
  
"What's he planning? Ginny tried to needle it out of me, but there wasn't anything I could tell her."  
  
Remus laughed. "That is precisely the reason Harry decided to let you in on the secret after your lunch with Ginny. So here's the secret. Harry intends to propose to Ginny tonight."  
  
Hermione squealed. "Wait. Why is he telling us this now, instead of waiting until after he's asked her?"  
  
"Because he needs our help tonight. His plan is simple, or at least what he's told me of it is anyway. He's bringing her here. He needs you and me to put up diversion enchantments."  
  
"Where?" Hermione asked.  
  
"The lake and your classroom. The kicker is that the enchantments need to work on everyone but Harry and Ginny."  
  
"That shouldn't be too difficult to do. What time are they coming?" she asked.  
  
"About 8 pm. The enchantments will need to be in place no later than 7 in order for them to be at full strength."  
  
"Ok, we can put them up after supper then. Any chance you know what his plan entails?" Hermione asked.  
  
"No. He wouldn't tell me when I asked. I'm sure he and Ginny will stop by for a visit tonight or tomorrow. That was another thing Harry needed. A room here to stay the night, so I gave him a password to one of the guest rooms in the staff tower."  
  
Hermione grinned. 'I can imagine what they'll be up to if she agrees to marry him."  
  
Remus laughed. "Yes, I can imagine that as well."  
  
Several hours later, Hermione and Remus were putting up the last of the diversion enchantments. "Is Harry coming to set things up beforehand?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Yes, he is," said a new voice from behind them.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione squealed. "Why did I only find out about tonight this afternoon?"  
  
Harry laughed. "Because you and I both know that Ginny would have gotten you to spill the beans and that would ruin the surprise."  
  
Hermione joined in the laughter at the mention of her inquisitive friend. "Very true." She sobered. "Does anyone else know?"  
  
Harry recognized the hidden meaning behind the question. "No, Ron doesn't know quite yet. If she says yes, I'm going to write to him and ask him to be my best man."  
  
A wave of emotion passed over Hermione's features. She shook away the hurt and focused on Harry. This was supposed to be a happy day. "So, do you need any help getting things ready?"  
  
"Nope. I have things completely under control. No need to worry."  
  
"So, are you going to tell us what the plan is?" Remus inquired.  
  
Harry grinned mischievously. "Not a chance. You'll have to ask Ginny tomorrow." He looked at his watch. "I'd better hurry up and finish here. I need to get back to my flat and get ready before Apparating to Ginny's. I'll see the two of you later. And thanks for allowing us to come tonight Remus."  
  
Remus felt a lump grow in his throat. "It's no problem Harry, really."  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Harry finished his preparations quickly and used his special Portkey to return to his flat. He hoped Ginny had gotten the note to wear her dress robes. In fact, he had asked her like a gentleman to dress up like she had for the Graduation Ball nearly five years before. Upon arriving in his flat, he put on his best dress robes, dark green in color. He looked at his watch again. "Almost time to leave," it said. He grinned, and looking in the mirror he realized he'd have to take the Cheshire grin off of his face if he wanted to keep Ginny in the dark about the real reason behind the night's events. Nervously, he checked his watch again. This time it read, "Stop checking the time and leave." He laughed and apparated just outside of Ginny's flat. He knocked on her door, hoping that she wouldn't mind him being a few minutes early. She opened the door, looking exactly like she had five years before, with her ice blue robes and flaming red hair in tight ringlets cascading down her back.  
  
"Harry, you're early!" she exclaimed.  
  
He just grinned at her, knowing full well that it would make her knees go weak. He heard her mutter something under her breath that sounded similar to, "That does it every time."  
  
"What did you say?" he asked, grinning again.  
  
Ginny blushed. "Nothing. Come on in while I finish getting ready real quick." She opened the door for him and he walked into her flat. He was always amazed at how he felt at home in her flat. He had the same feeling every time he visited the Burrow. He sat down on her couch while she raced around, finishing a few last minute things. Five minutes later she appeared. "Alright. Let's go to this mystery destination."  
  
He fought the urge to grin again, knowing that he wouldn't be able to wipe it off of his face. He certainly did not want Ginny to have any idea of what the night held for the two of them, and he knew that a perpetual grin would give it away. He pulled out two quills from his robes, and said to Ginny, "Take one of these. When I say the word, they'll be activated and will take us to our destination thirty seconds later." She nodded and took one from him. Harry said the activator and in half a minute they were in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom at Hogwarts.  
  
Ginny looked around with confusion written on her face. "Here? I figured we were just going out to dinner somewhere."  
  
Harry smiled at her like only he could. "I'm surprised you don't remember what today is."  
  
She looked at him, confused again. "What's today?"  
  
"Our anniversary, the first time around. Today's the day that six years ago we finally saw the light. We're here because I know Hogwarts holds a lot of memories for you, and it does for me too. I can't think of a better place to be."  
  
She nodded, eyes shining. "Don't let anyone ever tell you you're not a romantic at heart, Harry Potter."  
  
He smiled at her yet again. "Why don't we get started with dinner then? I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."  
  
"That sounds like a good idea to me. What are we having?" she asked.  
  
"Whatever you want. Dobby." He called.  
  
With a pop! Dobby appeared in the classroom. "Yes, Mr. Potter?"  
  
Harry turned back to Ginny. "Whatever you want to eat, Ginny. This night is all about not worrying. So order whatever you want."  
  
A little while later they were engrossed in both eating their food and a bit of lively conversation.  
  
"So did Hermione really not know about this when I had lunch with her today?" Ginny asked.  
  
Harry laughed. "She found out right after lunch. That's why Remus wanted to see her. Haven't you wondered why we haven't been interrupted yet? I asked her and Remus to set up diversion enchantments so we wouldn't be bothered. And we both know that you would have dragged any information she had, so it was easier to tell her after your lunch."  
  
"You're devious, you know that?" she asked. "But you're also very romantic, so it's alright."  
  
"You know, this was the place where I realized that I loved you," he began. She looked at him skeptically. "Really, I'm serious. It was right before the Christmas holidays during my seventh year and I was in here talking to Remus on a Saturday afternoon. It was one of many of our talks that year. We were talking about family and friends and it occurred to me, out of the blue, that my feelings for you went deeper than anything I'd ever known. Remus happened to give a name to those feelings."  
  
She took his hand in her own. She wasn't sure she wanted to ask the question on her mind, but she asked it anyway. Softly, she said, "Harry, why didn't you know how to name those feelings?"  
  
He sighed. "They were completely foreign to me, after having lived with the Dursleys all my life. Even with Sirius, the feelings hadn't reached that point yet, mostly because I didn't know him quite as well as I would have liked." He went quiet again at the thought of Sirius.  
  
"No! Stop right there Harry. This is supposed to be a happy night out for us. You didn't kill him, so don't start that line of thinking again. Don't make me come up with a new hex just for you."  
  
Harry shook his head. "You really do know me far too well. And you're right, this is supposed to be a happy evening. What do you say we head out for a nighttime walk around the lake?"  
  
She agreed readily. "Sounds like a good plan to me. It's always so pretty at night."  
  
Together, hand in hand, they walked the Hogwarts halls to the doors that would take them outside to the lake. Quietly, they began their walk around the lake. As they came to a tree, Harry spoke. "Let's stop here a little while."  
  
Ginny nodded. "Okay."  
  
Harry took a deep breath. "Do you recognize this place?"  
  
"This is where you first told me you loved me," she whispered.  
  
"Dance with me, Ginny," he whispered. He took her hands in his and together they swayed to music that only they could hear. She put her head on his shoulder and his arms slipped around her waist protectively as only he could do. "You know, I kick myself every day for those two years we spent apart while I was being a prat."  
  
"Shh. Don't think of that now. You'll ruin my perfect universe." She smiled.  
  
"Everyday I wake up, and my first thoughts are always of you, Ginny. You're my rock. You're my safe place. You're not afraid to tell me to shut up when I start thinking about the past."  
  
She looked up at him in shock at his revelations. "Oh Harry," she began.  
  
He leaned his head forward. "Marry me," he whispered.  
  
Her hand flew to cover her gaping mouth as she looked at him in shock. "Yes," she managed to choke out before kissing him.  
  
He pulled back, chuckling. "Before you ravish me like I'm sure you'd like to, can I put the ring on your finger?"  
  
She looked to the sky, laughing. "Stupid me. I forgot the most important part," she remarked sarcastically.  
  
Harry took a small blue velvet box from his robes and popped it open. Inside was the prettiest ring Ginny had ever seen.  
  
"Harry," she gasped, "you must have paid a fortune for that!"  
  
"Actually, I didn't. It was my mother's. It was one of the few things found a Godric's Hollow the night my parents died. Sirius found it and put it in my vault in preparation for today."  
  
"Oh Harry!" she exclaimed. She hugged him and began kissing him again.  
  
"You know, we don't have to separate tonight if you don't want to," Harry began.  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked quizzically.  
  
He chuckled. "The other thing I asked Remus for was a room for the night. I had hoped you'd say yes, and I asked for the room should we not want to go our separate ways tonight. Plus, I gathered our friends will want some, well, details since I didn't tell them any."  
  
"Wait, did you actually think I wouldn't say yes?" she asked with a look.  
  
"I have a secret for you, Ginny. Every man believes that she'll say no until she actually says yes."  
  
Ginny laughed at him. "Come on, let's dance again. How much did Remus and Hermione know about tonight?"  
  
"They knew that I was planning on proposing, and that I needed the DADA classroom and the lake set up, but other than that they knew absolutely nothing."  
  
"Let's go tell them now. I want to scream this to the entire world. I'm going to be married to the most wonderful man in the world," she said with a huge grin on her face.  
  
"I think you're giving me more credit than I deserve there I think, but I'll let it pass. You know you have a huge grin on your face, right?"  
  
"Yes, and you have one too. What do you say we quietly head up to the Owlery and I'll send Hermione an owl telling her to meet me out on the pitch, and you send one to Remus telling him to meet you out on the pitch? That way, neither of us can give away the secret with our grins, and we get to tell them at the same time." She grinned yet again, fully aware that she couldn't wipe the smile off of her face; nor did she want to.  
  
Together, they discreetly made their way up to the Owlery, being careful not to be seen by Remus or Hermione. They each sent their letters, knowing that it would be several minutes until their recipients received them. They then made their way back down to the pitch and sat in the stands. Twenty-five minutes later, Harry and Ginny could see two figures coming towards them. Harry and Ginny tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to wipe the grins from their faces.  
  
"Well, you don't look ready to kill each other," Remus joked.  
  
"Fine then, we won't tell you that we're engaged now," Harry retorted.  
  
Hermione squealed and rushed to hug Ginny and Harry. "Tell me what happened," she demanded.  
  
"Well," Ginny began, "we began with dinner in your classroom and he was all sweet about it. Then he suggested we come outside for a walk around the lake. We walked around to the place where he first told me he loved me. We danced, and he whispered in my ear, 'Marry me.' It was so romantic. And now we both have these huge grins on our faces that we can't seem to get rid of."  
  
Hermione laughed. "Well then, let's see the ring."  
  
Ginny showed off her left hand to both Hermione and Remus. "Harry, is that what I think it is?" Remus asked.  
  
He nodded. "It was one of the few things recovered from Godric's Hollow. Sirius found it in the wreckage and put it in my vault for safekeeping."  
  
"Was that." Hermione trailed off.  
  
Harry nodded again. "It was my mother's ring." 


End file.
